This is where we come alive
by fanfic.addicted01
Summary: Sequel of 'Beneath the stains of time'. A Lara Croft/Jacob one-shot collection - fragments of their life together after Siberia and how they will deal with the modern world's challenges and don't forget to mention Lara's upcoming adventures. Major SOTR spoilers ahead. Lots of fluff, I even surprise myself.
1. A house is not a home

**Hey guys, Merry Christmas :3 I hope everything is great for you :D And here I come with the second series about Jacob and Lara. I Wrote the first 2 chapters before Christmas and currently working on the third one so fingers crossed for it :P Notes are being copied from AO3, I upload the new works over there first.**

 **Okay, this is definitely not what I planned to write before Christmas xD It just... happened. This was something I created before I started the We could live like legends series, I was like, yes that would be cute, I need to put it into something, but eventually I didn't, not in the first series. Second then, ok, but later... and I sat down and just wrote this xD Shorter than my other one shots, but I just had to. If you end up coughing up sugary things at the end don't blame me xD**

 **\- no-beta reader  
\- non English writer  
\- mistakes? sorry  
\- recommend to have an insulin shot near by**

* * *

The huge armchair was as soft as she remembered it to be. Almost uncomfortably soft and welcoming; after spending months in the wilderness, the modern world's comfort seemed like heaven, like too much of the good, too much spoiling. Something she could get used to it way too easily.

This piece of furniture was so huge she almost disappeared in it even as an adult. Lara didn't like it; it always reminded her to her own loneliness, how alone she was, how much space she had next to her. She had many space in her life before, a painful hole that she couldn't fill up with anything.

Stirring a bit to find a more comfortable position, reordered her legs what hung over the handrail, easing the pressure in the back of her knees, let the blood flowing a bit more easily.

A gentle tone above her, the heat of the body under her, the arms around her, the scent, everything what eased her into this calmness reminded her, she wasn't alone anymore. There was no more space next to her in that armchair ever since it was Jacob who sat into it first then she found her way into his lap. He was fascinated by Richard's huge library and loved all the historical books – it would be too dry to a normal human being, but Jacob found them rather entertaining and informative. He often read them in front of the fireplace and Lara loved to join to him, asked him to read out loud to her. It wasn't like she was overly interested in the text of the book, but rather hearing his warm voice what instantly made her relaxed and feel at home than nothing before.

After losing her father too Lara felt the house become more and more alien with each passing day. She moved out as soon as she could, couldn't wait for that moment to come, feeling like these walls and memories were choking her. Returning after Yamatai was just as bad and haunting as she expected it to be; but it was her heritage and didn't plan to give it up - rather wanted to restore the manor, giving it back its old glory. She didn't know what she hoped from it; it won't give her father back. But it was her home even if it didn't feel like that, even if she was alone in a huge and old house, surrounded by grief and dusty memories.

All she was needed a cat or two and she could be the last Croft in the manor, dying alone. It was as depressing as it sounded.

But ever since she came back from Siberia the house has changed. Lara had some guesses it happened because she wasn't alone anymore.

After so many lonely years, so much sadness and grief, the place started to feel like a home once again. It didn't happen overnight and was a long process what was still in the motion, but sharing the manor with someone, with Jacob helped in a way Lara didn't expect to happen. It wasn't so dark anymore, wasn't so haunting. She happily showed him around, shared some childhood stories with him, even talked about Richard. And with every word Lara felt less sad, less depressed, less weighted down.

She was finally healing.

Inhaled deeply, welcomed the now familiar scent of her _home,_ a mixture of fire, books and Jacob. It wasn't like she remembered it from her childhood, it was new, but just as wonderful, made her feel as safe, let her know she was at the best place she could be. The best place where she could relax, rest and be happy.

The calming monotony of his voice was broken as Jacob made a little comment whenever he found a historical inaccuracy in the book – it put a soft smile on her face. Usually she asked more about the topic and Jacob willingly tell her more, stories from his past, how life was back there and what happened with him. It was his way to be whole again. They weren't perfect, but completed each other perfectly.

He was shifting under her, Lara felt as he looked down on her checking if she was still up or long asleep. Looking back with a soft smile was enough for him to turn a page over, hugging her a bit tighter and return to the book.

Easing back against him, her fingers drew some curvy patterns onto his chest, wondering about how unpredictable life was. Before going to Siberia she didn't expect to find someone who will have such an effect on her and how much he will mean to her. Someone who will be part of her life. Someone whom she _wants_ to share her life with.

Sam always nagged her to open up a bit and enjoy the world around herself and not to live for her adventures only. She would like Jacob. And her father, well he probably would have been fascinated by him, shooting millions and millions of questions at him, being overly excited, eerily reminding Lara to a child at Christmas morning. For some reason Lara doubted Jacob would mind Richard's enthusiasm and they would get along pretty well with time. And well having a former immortal man in her life was 100% Croftish, her father would probably mention it all the time. It was a silly thought, but it still made Lara smile.

Her mother well… after everything she went through with her father, she would be happy for Lara's happiness and welcome the man her daughter chose to the family.

It would be sweet. And even if it pained her not having it, not as much as before. She will forever miss them, everyone she lost, family member or friend, dead or alive, but chose to walk away from her. But she had Jacob and Jonah now – the two of them liked each other pretty much. This was her family now. Her home. Her place to be, surrounded with the right people. The Croft-team.

Jacob's voice and the warmness of the fire became an extremely comforting mixture. Blinked for a few times as she tried to keep her eyes open, but Lara find the task to re-open them more difficult to do. Oh well, just 5 minutes rest.

She won't be too surprised when the next time she opens her eyes, finds herself in a huge bed - in _their_ bed in _their_ bedroom - Jacob curled around her and it's already morning.

* * *

 **Just plain sweet things and Lara's feelings and lots of cuddles and damn I have plans with this series xD (Sorry for the way-too-everything theme, I just had to, I have a soul, even if I hide it xD** ) **Feel free to leave a mark as thoughts, suggestions, asks, whatever you feel up to :3**


	2. Princess or figther?

**Hi again,**

 **First and foremost, so sorry for the stupid title. I told you I am bad with them :D Second: sorry for the repetitive theme, but this one is also an older piece being half-written while I was working on the 'We can live like legends' series - yes, I was already brainstorming for their life together xD - and took it and re-write it, making it as a full story. As for the repetitive theme I can totally see them enjoy each other's company after a long day, Lara is definitely busy during the daytime, dealing with family stuff and her own researches, maybe even making some publications about her adventures and discoveries. Okay, maybe not mentioning the Divine Source, but she still found bunch of relics and had several discoveries of tombs. Maybe she can find a way to share the history with the public. I also think the Croft name and her father's heritage and also her title gives her just enough obligations, not like she usually fulfils them, but there are some things she needs to face with, wants it or not. So no, I totally don't think she is like just a spoiled girl spending money 0-24 and don't do anything else :D**

 **Usual things apply:  
\- no beta reader  
\- non English writer  
\- and yes, maybe a too silly and sickly sweet one shot**

* * *

„How many languages do you speak?"

The question came from the nowhere, breaking the peaceful silence between them, making him looking at her figure sitting behind the huge desk over bunch of papers filled with her handwriting. Brown eyes reflected the orange light of the fire, what was throwing long shadows on the hard wooden floor. The huge room was mostly dark – she used a desk lamp as light source and Jacob wasn't bothered by reading next to the fire – his only light was the fire for years and years after all. Old habits die hard.

Even if you were facing with the modern world.

"Well, I was born in the Byzantine Empire and as you know Latin and Greek were spoken in the 10th century of Byzantium. I can speak both. Then I spent some time in Syria as well, so learned some Arabic, then learned Russian and maybe I can still manage to recognize some Mongolian words. And English of course."

She didn't say a thing to that, acknowledged his answer silently, only rewarded him with her smile, but Jacob was fine with that: he loved her smiles. She rarely smiled in Siberia, but things were different now, at her home.

Lara was a real mystery sometimes; Jacob knew they rarely had the time to properly get to know each other, things were a bit difficult back then – they were running on short time and having mindful conversations while trained soldiers try to kill you can be a challenge. Not like they didn't talk whenever they had spare 5 minutes, but he tried to ensure his people's safety and she was on the hunt most of the time. Now, when they have all the time of the world.

Both of them were rough at the edges back then, driven by their instincts and emotions mostly. She was fearless and fierce and he was fascinated by that; her power, her strength always amazed him and it still does. But now was so different.

Now, Jacob had a chance to slowly, truly know her, appreciating every moment, didn't matter how small it was.

Things like realizing she loved tea more than coffee – and always brought a cup of the hot flavoured liquid with herself when she sat down to that huge desk in her father's office. How her first cup of tea was _always_ black tea and she poured some milk into it – which truly horrified Jacob when he first saw that. For later of the day she switched to the fruitier mixtures. And never-ever put any sweetener into the cup, only some of the dry leaves of her various and rather big tea collection and hot water.

Or how bad she was at singing. Sometimes he could hear her, mostly when she thought he was out of the hearing range, leaving the radio on or put some of her favourite songs on and God above it was truly terrible, the _'dogs will join in any moment now'_ terrible, but honestly, he still loved to hear it and never mentioned it to Lara. She would stop doing it immediately.

She loved to leave small notes around the house. Whenever she was out to buy some food or just a simple activity like biking, a small piece of paper was always waiting for him and letting him know where she was and when she will get back. Shopping lists, sticking on the door of the fridge, important dates and meetings or simple ideas which hit her randomly, connected to her ongoing research or even future researches. Her handwriting was precise and neat, mirroring her strong personality – the occasionally used smiling faces (mostly in the notes, being written to him) was just a pinch of hint of her more tender side, something only few persons were allowed to see.

And that bicycle. Jacob never had the chance to learn how to use that thing and Lara was obsessed with it – she really took a good care of it and used it whenever she needed to clear her head out and be alone for an hour or so. And she already asked him if he wanted to learn cycling or not. He couldn't say no to it, although he wasn't so sure about his immediate success of it.

When they first met Lara was driven, strong and almost hard on the surface. The woman he started to know more and more was more… human. There was always something new to learn about her, a small piece he never saw before. With every exchanged stories, every passed day she showed more of herself and it felt like taking a slow but steady journey, slowly realizing Lara was much more complex. She was intelligent, yes, and Jacob already knew that, saw her in the worst situations and she always cut herself out of it, fight her way out if it was needed, knew what she was capable of. But didn't know what she loved to do in her free time. He didn't know the tea-addict and bookworm British woman before, who was more than happy with a fantasy book, full of magic and dragons and how lost she could be in that world with a blanket and a tea – of course. How much patient she had to explain the modern things to him and teach him about the modern world even if she didn't really consider it as teaching. Things like the internet or video games were totally new to him – or even modern politics and how the voting system worked. A simple toaster was a totally new piece of information. He lived a simpler life and she accepted that, making sure to find his place in this new world. Long walks around the neighbourhood, hand in hand like any other normal human beings who loved each other and long conversations late into the night, seeing her laugh and also making her laugh, all these small, normal, peaceful things meant the world to him.

After a moment of thinking Jacob decided to break the silence once again.

"How many languages do _you_ speak?" asked teasingly, not letting her diving into her business too deeply.

Her stiff _'I am concentrating on my work'_ figure relaxed a bit as she took a break from her papers, leaned back against the office chair, gently rocking a bit, while she was thinking on her answer.

"Not as much as you." started, pondered a bit then smiled at him "I learned some languages at the university like Ancient Greek and Latin, but I need some polishing before I could use them. Or I just learn a new one, depends where I am heading to." she shrugged.

The ever practical. Need a new language for a new myth and country? Oh right, why not learning it like over two weeks before the trip. Why this didn't surprise him – at all?

A wide smile slowly appeared on his lips and the way he looked at her, adding that strange glint in his eyes quickly made Lara realize what he was thinking about.

"Most definitely no."

Mentioning her studies in ancient languages was definitely a mistake, Lara knew it as soon as she made her answer and she wasn't willing to embarrass herself using it to everyday communication with someone who kind of mastered both of the mentioned languages.

Although she was pretty sure _someone_ in her family would love the opportunity and the challenge of it. But she wasn't him.

Ah, the disappointment. "You are so-so cruel Lady Croft."

Lara rolled her eyes at that. "I deeply regret the moment when I told you about _that_." This earned another teasing smile being sent toward her.

A huge manor with huge gates with a huge Croft crest - well that being literally _everywhere_ – caused some questions _of course_ and she didn't see any reason why not to tell him about her noble heritage and _of course_ he had to use that information giving her lady-created nicknames and using them whenever he wanted to poke her a bit.

She hated it. Except she didn't, not really and usually his trick worked on her and he knew that.

The silence was back between them as Jacob turned back to his book after giving her a last smile and Lara let her mind wander as she watched his relaxed form, reading peacefully – and well aware of her, staring, but chose not to mention it. Sometimes she wondered about their life together and how well and rather quickly Jacob was able to adapt to this new situation. He had some experiences with it after all, living an unimaginable long life and being constantly on the move; for first seeking after the perfect place to settle, then trying to find his place among his people. He needed to adapt and he was good at it. But things were also different now; this was his last big group of lessons to learn, this was the final century he will live in. And honestly Jacob seemed to be happier in his mortal skin now. She could read him better now than before, the way he talked about his past, his voice, how he sometimes struggled with the memories hinted how much he suffered over the years because of his immortality. It was really a burden for him and he never looked happier than to have a full life which will certainly end sometime.

And not only his life changed: before Jacob Lara most definitely would be already out on her next adventure, risking her life and facing inhuman creatures, killing people constantly.

With Jacob she just wanted to enjoy her life to the fullest. The adventures still had a place in this new image, but they weren't as important as before. She rather concentrated to renovate the house and make a home of it for themselves than ever before. Jacob enjoyed doing some stuff on his own, ever since he always solved things with his own hands - and doing it together really felt like she finally found her place in the world, creating a home for themselves, something great and beautiful. They were a pretty good team, let it be about building a new roof or kill creatures of the wild.

But something still bothered her: sooner or later Lara will return to the myth, she already made some minor preparations, she already had an eye for the next adventure. But didn't know what to do with Jacob. He definitely will want to accompany her and Lara had no objection against it, but still… she didn't want to lose him. It was dangerous enough and she was always afraid of losing Jonah and tried to make him as safe as she could, that's why she dealt with her business mostly on her own. Went in the tombs alone, faced with the darkness alone. But Lara had no idea how their dynamic will work on the field. Maybe Jacob will want to follow her – he was capable to handle himself in a fight but Lara didn't want to put his life at risk. Before he was immortal. Now he was just a normal human being – no second chance, no +1 life ticket. If he dies now he will remain dead.

She didn't bring it up yet, but she needs to do it and probably soon.

But not today. Reached out for her pen, she put down minutes before, Lara tried to push the dark clouds away from her mind – it can wait, she didn't need to stress about it just now. It was time to enjoy being around the living ones and rest and just finally enjoy her life altogether; let the bad thing fade away a bit, wounds healing and starting something new.

* * *

 **Where do I start.**

 **I don't think Jacob has any serious problem dealing with the modern world. He already knew the Soviets and their technology, the 21th Century won't be a huge shock after that. Not like he doesn't have big surprises, just mention a simple thing as finding porn on the internet for the very first time, but he can and will adapt pretty quickly. This doesn't mean he won't be an analogue person in a digital world - he won't say no to the television or even the internet, but he forever will be the guy who rather read a proper book than watch some kind of entertaining show in the telly. I don't really see Lara as a technology addict person either, she is using the technology of course, but prefers to spend her free-time tech-free.**

 **As for the bike, well she has a bicycle, I am pretty sure I saw it in the game's menu's background and also in the Blood Ties DLC, so this can mean one thing: Lara owns a bicycle and also loves to use it. This sport kinda suits her I think, so why not? Same goes for the tea: you cannot take the tea away from a Brit :D**

 **I do think Jacob loves to give nicknames to Lara: to tease her, to express his love for her and well it's just cute - not in every second though. His fierce Lady :3 I doubt Lara does the same, it is just not her style. She rather tells him she loves him, while Jacob rarely makes such a confess, he prefers these small signs of endearment. But neither of them really feel the urge to use the "I love you" phrase very often, they know they love each other and that's enough for them. As Jonah sees it, it is enough to take a quick glance at them to know they are sickly in love so why say it out loud?**

 **As restless as ever Lara is already thinking about the next journey ahead of them. She wanna deal with things first, like definitely finish the renovating of the manor and making sure Jacob is not feeling like an alien among today's people, but she already knows where she wants to head once everything is done. Taking Jacob with her is not a question. Making him understand there are some things she needs to do alone can be tricky or at least she expects it to be tricky. It's not like Jacob will simply be like "Ok, you are heading toward your death, have luck with that." but also knows her and he already accepted her nature and temper; he will step out of the way when that is needed to do, but definitely holds her back when he feels like he needs to do that to prevent anything tragic thing to happen. There is a thin line between letting her go and telling her not to go; it will be a challenge for both of them.**


	3. All I want for Christmas is

**I know, I know I am a bit late with this story as a Christmas present, but I still send it to you, put it under the tree :3 Was written with LOVE :D**

 **\- still no beta-reader (maybe I should ask for it for Xmas xD)  
\- non-English writer  
\- mistakes still happen (i still try my best)**

* * *

„Bloody hell!"

Lara took a moment to rest, while she tried to figure out how exactly she should get this tree into the house.

As she looked up to the pine tree, what was towering over her smaller figure and pine-needles were falling into her neck with every pulling motion, finding their way under her clothing layers, pricking her skin, leaving red marks behind and the urge to scratch, Lara was pretty sure this was definitely not her brightest idea ever.

It was a sudden one. She was checking the attic, didn't go there for years and ever since she wanted to renovate the building it was time to get rid of the old things she won't use or didn't plan to keep it. Opening dust-covered cardboard boxes, selecting what she wanted to keep and what not, found the old Christmas ornaments, the ones she remembered from her childhood.

Lara didn't really enjoy the holidays ever since her father died, although Roth tried his best, getting a beautiful huge tree and decorating it, trying to involve her as well, but she refused mostly. Christmas became the reminder of everything she lost - how she should celebrate with her family, but she had none anymore, so why she should pretend to be happy? As Lara slowly became young adult and went to the university, abandoned Christmas altogether – as an adult didn't need to pretend with tree-decorating and gift-buying. Rather spent the holidays in her room, alone, reading or working on school papers. The building was silent and calm and it was everything she could ask for – she could have this at least, not like getting back her parents, no matter how hard and often asked for it as a small girl.

But as she slowly reached into the box, fingers touched the cold material of the fragile, pretty things and took one out of the delicate glass ornaments, looking at it, feeling it, remembering to the good old times, realizing Christmas was around the corner and suddenly she toyed with the idea of getting a tree.

Maybe this time, now, this holiday can be a happy one once again. Besides Jacob had no idea about how modern Christmas was working - and that definitely put a smile on her face, already felt excited, making her grab the box and took it down with her.

Buying a tree wasn't a big challenge. She only needed a short car-ride to do so, checking out the available trees and picking one out. Getting it back to the house and then into the house was another thing. Her choice of the future Christmas tree was a good one: a beautiful, thick, tall piece, not too grand, just tall enough to be bigger than Lara and make her job much more difficult. And she quickly realized that, when it was time to get the tree out of the car then cover the distance between the vehicle and the front door, open the entrance and get in. Her expectations were much more different than reality: the usually 3 seconds distance toward the door meant lots of pulling and cursing and scratches on her skin, hinting that her enemy was a cat or more like cats, instead of a cut out piece of a forest, which was unable to move on its own. Fuck, it would be so much easier with a bloody fake tree. But of course she didn't want a fake tree, because it wouldn't be real and she couldn't organize someone's first Christmas with a fake tree and damn why it was this big and heavy and how the hell she will get it into the house and moreover to its final place and ' _damn tree, move it tree, why the fuck I did this fucking dammit…'_

"What are you doing?"

The question halted her in motion – even though she almost successfully accomplished her mission, standing in the door, trying to get the tree between the four walls of the house. His voice was slightly wondering, a bit confused, but also hinted a smile somewhere between the words, finding her situation a bit amusing and also entertaining. How long he was standing there?

Turned around to face him and yes, she wasn't mistaken, a faint smirk was there. Probably she looked comical fighting with a tree, needles in her hair and well everywhere else too and apparently the tree was winning this fight.

"I'm trying to kindly invite the tree inside." her voice was stern and stubborn, apparently displeased with the situation and annoyed by the mentioned plant.

"Ah…" he nodded like he instantly understood her intentions, took another moment to look at her with the huge, tied up green behind her. "But… why?"

His confusion finally put a smile on her face, letting out a small laugh. Time to enlighten him a bit. "Well, Christmas is coming, you know…"

Another nod let her know he was well aware of that. "…And?"

"And its tradition. Decorating trees, families gathering around it and exchanging presents under it."

"Oh…" he seemed to think about it a bit, letting her words sink in. "Is that a new tradition?"

That earned a chuckle. "You are the only one who actually refers a 117 years old tradition as new." To her it was simply a tradition to follow. To him, brand new. The 20th century wasn't too far away memory for him after all – not like he knew anything about how people started to decorate pine trees for Christmas and how it slowly became more and more popular, steadily evolving into today's Christmas trees.

He smiled back just the usual way he always did, in this calm and very warm way, which always reminded her to that feeling she often felt around him; what she described as being covered with a soft and thick duvet, hiding into it from the coldness of the world, having their own secret place to be.

Her attention was back to the problem behind her – the tree won't get itself into the house. With Jacob's help and some teasing – _"The mighty Lara Croft, who beats various creators of the wilderness is being defeated by a tree."-_ and a _"Shut up."_ retort it successfully got over the door and started its journey to its final destination.

The mansion was way too big for two people - and some parts were uninhabitable as well. After moving back, Lara only used a small part of it, the study, an en suite bedroom and the kitchen. Coming back with Jacob didn't really changed things; he wasn't used to such grand living space and neither of them felt like they need more than what they already had. She suggested to put the tree into the study, that was the place they spent most of their time anyway – either way for work or observing blue prints, planning how the renovating should go or just simply relax and spending time together, surrounded by books and the warmness of the fire and each other. A Christmas tree will be a nice addition, filling the room with its scent, faintly reminding them to the cold woods of Siberia, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of pine trees. It wasn't exactly like that; the scent was much weaker and snow rarely happened in the UK; they've already got plenty of rain instead and looked like snow will avoid the island this year as well.

And despite the heavy clouds and cold outside Lara didn't feel this… cheerful since years. She happily chatted about her memories of the past, about happy Christmases, how her father hid her presents and organized a treasure hunt for her, giving all the details about the holidays to Jacob, what families are usually doing this time of the year, how they share a traditional menu at the table, putting presents under the tree and opening them the next morning. How kids are hoping they were good enough to get the presents they wished for and excited to see Santa Claus' arriving with the magical reindeers and his sleigh.

As a kid she loved these stories and the magic what wrapped Christmas around. As an adult Lara found the complexity of myths and the mixture of Christian and pagan holidays highly amusing.

Now was different as they exchanged stories, while put the ornaments on the tree, having Jacob around even if he was more like sabotaging her work as she tiptoed with a hanging ornament in her hand, trying to put it into its place, while he was sneaking his arms around her waist and making her literally disappear in a hug, embracing her form, showing affection in a form of a kiss placed onto the skin of her neck. Or more like series of kisses. And a playful bite too, what made her yelped a bit, then laugh, squeaking out her protesting, because he was rather holding her back than actually helping her and hearing his teasing, when she stood on a chair to reach the higher parts. Being happy and laugh once again this time of the year was the greatest gift she received and there was nothing else Lara ever needed.

Even if the rain came later that night, pouring like there was no tomorrow, forcing people into their homes, making everything grey and wet – the gloomy weather still found them happy and content, cuddling on the soft couch with two mugs of hot tea. The warm light was reflecting on the smooth and colourful surface of the ornaments, making them shine – it definitely made a strong contrast of the intense raining outside. It was nice – much nicer than being in the cold wilderness and fighting to survive, although it definitely had a kind of freedom. Jacob appreciated Christmas before as well, felt grateful for everything he had, his people, Sofia, the food they shared. The world he lived in now lost its simplicity and was quite challenging sometimes. He never understood the outsiders before, but being surrounded by his people made him felt more at home – although he never really found his peace or place even among them. But the people of today felt like they were aliens to him. Somehow, sometime they lost the focus of the important things and chased materiality, to have more, objects and power included. The Mongols, the Soviets and Trinity all sought power in the valley, to rule the world, while someone who had the ability, the one the raiders wanted for themselves, wished for nothing more than a simple, mortal life and the chance of dying, the chance to have a normal life with someone at his side, whom he can love. The chance to die sooner than his daughter. The chance to not see how everyone will fade away slowly around him, leave him to be last man of something ancient, something that no-one remembers to, not finding his place, not fitting into anywhere.

As he fell into his darker, more serious mood, Lara sensed it, looked at him, asked what was he thinking about.

Maybe mortality came too late for him?

He missed some things, the familiarity, knowing where he lived and what he could expect. He missed Sofia, now more than ever before. Although she supported him to go and finally live his life and enjoy it, telling him he did more than enough for her and for the Remnants too, and he doesn't have to worry for her or their people; she was an adult now and more than capable to take his place. Jacob knew that for a while now, it was time for him to step down and let his daughter take care of the valley now and for everyone else who lived there. This was how it had to happen; parents eventually let their kids go. Even if one of the parents will live forever. And once he lost that ability Sofia told him to not be afraid and see the world, discover it and be happy with Lara.

' _You cannot let it go. Not for the third time.'_

She was right – and always painfully honest with her words. It didn't make the leaving easier though.

Looking into the brown eyes, finding some worry in them, gave a soft smile to her.

"We have no gifts under the tree."

Jacob wasn't sure he wanted to share these thoughts with her now, not today. Even if they were pretty open with each other, there were few things he preferred to have some time to think about a bit first and Lara wasn't so different either. They accepted how the other worked and she didn't force him to share now. Let out a big sigh instead, shook her head a bit.

"I already have mine for a while now. Found in the wilderness of Russia."

Snuggled closer against him, her head on his chest, arms tightly around his torso, filling his chest with this warm, contented feeling, what pushed the sadder emotions back a bit.

"And I don't really need anything else."

* * *

 **Awww, I hope you liked it :3 They totally deserved a happy Christmas-time and they got it :3**

 **As for Jacob knows and still doesn't know Christmas:**

 **The exact date when Christmas should be celebrated was specified by the First Council of Nicaea - before that there were several dates pinpointed as the birth of Jesus. 25th of December was also the date of the winter solstice in the Roman calendar, the celebration of Saturnalia happened between 17th - 25th of December. This new date helped to the pagan people to accept Christianity and also unified when Christ was born. This all happened in 325 AD. According to the Tomb Raider Wiki Jacob was born "Before 970 AD", so Christmas was a thing by the time he was born and he was familiar with it. The tree and gift giving is kinda a modern thing, even thought the Romans did give gifts to their servants during the celebration of Saturnalia, the church strictly forbid to give any gifts during the Christian version of this holiday in the middle ages. It was more about a "inner personal meditation" and of course going to church than about presents. Decorating trees started to be popular in the 20th century. Jacob was in the middle of nowhere around that time so he had literally no clue about gifts and ornaments and trees. I think he rather was among his people and was grateful for the meat the hunters brought back to the village and have something to eat - or being away, depends which period of his we talk about - than making and giving away any kind of gifts.**

 **Lara of course only had the modern Christmas and it was fun for a while, but once she was kinda orphaned the joy of it was lost for her. Even if Roth was a step-father for her, she was still unable to enjoy the holidays and once she was off to the UCL and had her own place - as I imagine she had her flatmates as well, ever since she had to pay for the rent, so that's why I gave her a room only, not a whole flat to enjoy - she skipped Christmas altogether.**

 **Now they both have something new and the mixture of the two; no gifts needed - I doubt Jacob would enjoy the gift giving part, he doesn't appreciate objects, not overvaluing them - they just need each other.**

 **But: what did you get for Christmas? :D**


	4. Lady of the Dead

**Hello dear readers :3**

 **I know, the gap between this update and the last update was a bit bigger one, but this happens when someone writes two stories in the same time -.- And also has some troubles with this chapter, but managed to solve it :D I am pretty happy how it turned out, ever since I knew the theme I wanted to write about but had no idea what I want to write about exactly. Probably I cannot keep up with the "update after every 2-3 days" pace, probably will be one update/week, but I am definitely working on the series. Damn I really need a news feed to let you know if I am stuck or not xD**

 **\- still no English-speaker  
\- still no beta-reader**

* * *

The smells, the heat, the colours and the noises were all stimulating and felt like every incoming information suddenly attacked his brain at the same time, overloading his senses.

So much colour, so many people wearing bright clothes and many of them had this painting on their faces; pure white with black motives and curves on it - big black patches around the eyes and one was placed on the nose too, surrounded with vivid colours, forming flowers and playful, artistic lines, transforming the human face to jolly skulls.

People were dancing, chatting and celebrating together on the streets, there were painted, smiling faces whenever Jacob looked at. Stands everywhere with merchants, bargaining about the prices with the buyers, selling their merchandise; skulls in every size and various mixture of vivid colours – the _calaveras_ , made from ceramic, sugar and even chocolate, brightly coloured statues of skeletons – the _calacas_ , breads what reminded him to a human figure – _pan de muerto_ and orange coloured flower – that was literally _everywhere_ , on the streets, on the altars and in the cemetery as well. People were tying these flowers together to create different flower statues, collected the petals in basket, sized from big to small and of course used them as a normal flower too.

According to Lara this was the time of _Dia de los Muertos_ which was the Day of the Dead – more like Days of the Dead. As she told him this was a two days long festive, when the passed family members came back to visit their living families, have some food and drink. 1st of November were the day, when passed children came back - the _Día de los Angelitos_ \- the second day was the adults' time, the _Dia de los Muertos_. A very vivid and interesting mixture of the Aztec and Christian culture – something Jacob never really heard about, but was able to fascinate him from minutes to minutes.

And even if Cozumel was the land of the Maya people, this holiday managed to spread from Mexico all around South America by now.

It was… fascinating.

Honestly, when Lara first mentioned she was thinking about going after Trinity again and she already had a plan in her head, Jacob didn't really know what to say or to expect. He barely got familiar with his modern life and with the place where he now lived at, she wanted to go on another journey – of course she wanted to, the renovation of the mansion went very good and she did everything to find all of the blue prints and be sure about the ongoing work to go just the direction she wanted it to – Lara was ready to leave her family business behind for a time and be focused on Trinity again. Jacob definitely didn't want to hold her back – he knew what he was signing up for next to her, knew who she was. What he didn't know what Lara wanted – it was clear Jonah will accompany her, but what about him? Rather leaves him behind, thinking it would be too much and too sudden change for him or planned to ask him to come along as well?

Turned out it was the latter, although she seemed to be a bit stressed because of it – isolated living meant some handicap in every field. She needed to get papers for him, needed to make sure he won't end up catching some nasty illness – he practically didn't exist in this new, modern world and he couldn't really get and ID based on his birth date.

But Lara didn't know the word impossible. Jacob had no idea how and from whom or how much did it cost for her, but she got everything he needed. Within months he had his passport, ID, medical record and a new family name too. Tons of vaccines later he was here, in Cozumel, a place where he never been before and couldn't stop to feel amazed by everything he saw.

Living in the nowhere of Siberia, Jacob tend to forget about the world around him – only Kitezh existed and his people and the cold at winter or the heat at summer. Their life was about surviving and every single day was a fight for it.

Meanwhile the world left them behind, evolved and Jacob slowly forgot how other nations and other cultures can be so complex and difficult and different. But Lara was a great reminder of what he'd miss and more than willing to show him everything she could – even if she was on the hunt.

Arriving some days earlier gave them the opportunity to discover the city. Some peaceful days to look around; Lara called it "getting familiar with the environment, just in case". Jacob rather had the idea she planned all this for him – she didn't really need the extra time to look around. He didn't say anything of course, only gave her his gentle smile. Probably their holidays will look like this in the future anyway – exotic places, spiced up with some gunshots, myths and artifacts.

-x-

If the city seemed to be amazing in the daylight, it was really magical at night. Jacob couldn't stop himself to stand on the balcony – originally went out in the hope of a cooler evening air, but he was disappointed; the evening was as hot and damp as the day was with the only difference of missing the killing sunrays – but he just stayed there admiring how the small square looked under him.

Music, people and candles everywhere. Happy chatting and laughter came from every direction, the smell of exotic food mixed with the spicy flavour of the hot air, the candles' orange light added some extra warmness to the atmosphere. He was supposed to help packing out, but it was such a lovely view, to see so many people who celebrated their passed family members with such a positive mindfulness and were happy rather than sad and crying – it kind of glued him to the spot.

Two arms gently circled around his waist and a smaller figure was pressed against his back, definitely tiptoeing a bit to have a look over his shoulder and pressed a kiss on his cheek. It totally earned a warm smile as he looked back at her, acknowledging her presence. The heat was definitely too much for her as well; wearing a tank top and shorts, braided her hair and even pinned it to the base of her head as a simple, but nice bun, instead of the usual ponytail. It was a small difference, but a very lovely change.

Following his gaze, watching the lively street-life under them for a minute.

"It's very different, isn't it?" she asked, voice calm and gentle, but Jacob still could hear some longing from it. It felt like she wished if she could see her losses in such a positive way. Maybe that would make them hurt less.

Faintly, he felt the same.

"It is. But I like it; remember to the happier times and how your loved ones lived, not to how they died or how much you missed them."

Nuzzled closer, she hid her face into his neck for a moment, inhaling his scent, falling into comfortable silence.

Jacob's gaze fell on a small girl, happily running to her mother with a small basket of orange petals, grab a handful of it and disseminated them to the ground, added a small amount to the petals on the streets – it was already covered with them, building up the vividness of the orange colour even more, hiding the hard ground under them. Jacob sensed the flower was an important detail, but he couldn't figure out why.

"What is it with the flower?"

She peeked over his shoulder once again, have another look on the street, seeing what flower he meant, but she already had an idea.

"That's the _cempasúchil_ , the Mexican marigold. It is believed to attract the souls to the _ofrendas_ , to the altars with the offerings. Also called _Flor de Muerto_ ; the flower of the dead."

Flower of the dead? Not the nicest name ever. She must see his thought to be reflected on his face, because Lara continued.

"Don't let the name trick you; there is a story behind it."

Oh, now that sound interesting. "Please, do tell."

A smile appeared on her face, she was waiting for this request.

"There were two lovers, Xóchitl and Huitzilin. They used to spend all their spare time playing and enjoying discovering their town together as kids. Although Xochitl was a delicate girl, her family let her join in the adventures of her neighbour Huitzilin. With time, they fell in love with each other.

They loved to hike to the top of a near mountain together, where they would offer flowers to the Sun god Tonatiuh. The god seemed to appreciate their offering and would smile from the sky with his warm rays. On a particularly beautiful day at the top of the mountain, they swore that their love would last for ever.

But then war came and the lovers were separated as Huitzilin headed to fight and protect their homeland. Sadly, death come for Huitzilin and the news quickly reached Xóchitl. She felt her world falling to pieces, her heart completely torn. She was so heartbroken, decided to walk one last time to the top of the mountain and implore the sun god Tonatiuh, to somehow join her with her love Huitzilin. The sun moved by her prayers, threw a ray that gently touched her cheek. Instantly Xóchitl turned into a beautiful flower of fiery colours as intense at the sun rays. But the flower wasn't lonely as a beautiful hummingbird flew to it and lovingly touched the centre of the flower with its beak. It was Huitzilin that was reborn. The flower gently opened its 20 petals, filling the air with a mysterious and lovely scent.

The lovers would be always together as long as cempasuchil flowers and hummingbirds existed on earth."

He was silent for a moment once Lara finished the story.

"I don't have to beg to the Sun god to let me re-join with you after this adventure, do I?" Asked his question in his gentle tone, but he couldn't be more serious.

They faced the death once and Jacob wasn't willing to do it again – be it him or Lara. He trusted her and her skills, but Jacob was still afraid deep down he will lose her. Knew Lara was afraid of the opposite, that's why she tried to secure his safety in every possible way and she won't let him to accompany her everywhere she is about go, but did she think about how he felt about letting her go alone?

Her expression changed to a more serious one, seeing his fears and worries. Was she a bit surprised? Maybe.

Slowly reached out and Jacob felt how she touched his hand, laced their fingers together, giving him a firm squeeze.

"No, you don't have to. I promise you don't have to."

She couldn't promise that, of course she couldn't guarantee it, but Jacob knew she will do everything to stay alive and he had to be happy with that. It should be enough. It _had to_ be enough.

' _I hope it will be enough.'_

* * *

 **Damn, Día de Muertos is a very-very vivid and cool holiday! :D I knew nothing about it, but then saw Coco - didn't expect anything from it ,really - and I was like damn, that stuff is much cooler than our European version! we are just simply sad and cry over our losses, why people in South-America is actually happy and celebrate! How better you can remember to your loved ones than to remember to the good times and show them you enjoy life altogether? I totally fell in love with this mentality and definitely wanna experience it on my own skin sometime :3**

 **And then I saw it on the SOTTR and I was that's it! I have to write about it, this is a freaking cool theme to write about. Adding Jacob who never-ever really saw anything like this before was the extra fun :D I do think he'd overly enjoy it, would see how positive thing it was and could embrace it. He himself is such a positive character - even if he loves to torture himself with thoughts like he is not enough, but he always willing to fight and never give up, always sees the positive ending. Has his own fears yes, but totally motivates others. He is a leader after all.**


	5. Being Human

**Hi :D**

 **It was really long time dear readers, but I am still here :D And will be here, even if taking a bit longer breaks between two updates. Life is really busy, but I try my best.**

 **This one takes after the plane crash and the first double jaguar attack + losing the pilot.**

 **\- Still not native speaker  
\- This means there are mistakes I cannot detect  
\- Because I have no beta either**

* * *

The jungle was nothing similar to anything, what Jacob saw before. He saw the great city, Byzantium full of people and life, with all the knowledge and architecture and also greediness and hungry for power, everything good and bad humanity were managed to create. The infinite sea of sand in Syria where the heat could drive you crazy and made you see thing in the vibrating air – but also offered peace and isolation. He saw the harsh coldness of Siberia, great leaders who come and conquer and destroy. Saw death, so much death. As a man who lived thousands lives and thousands more he thought nothing could surprise him anymore.

But the jungle was different.

A tropical forest as Lara and all the books described it to be, he read when he did his own research about the place they were heading to. But nothing, not he books or Lara could describe it correctly.

Standing between the huge trees, touching the sky with their branches - seemed like they try the exact same thing what humans tried with the Tower of Babel; reaching God itself - and forming an impenetrable living and never ending wall, hearing the noises coming from every direction made Jacob realize it wasn't only a forest. It was a breathing, living thing, every inch of it was full of life and danger.

Jacob lived in the wilderness in most of his life and knew exactly well when his position as a predator switched to a simple prey. And he was prey now - from the moment their plane crashed from the sky and landed right in the jungle's embracing arms, waiting to push them into its arena. He was here, alone and lost, quickly realizing what he really was here: just _meat_ for others. It frightened him, knowing there were other, stronger predators who wouldn't hesitate to hunt him down, but it was also very… fascinating feeling as well. Strangely he _was_ part of the forest – him at the bottom of the food chain, but still part of it, of the whole circle. A participant in the great survival game of life and there was no time out to get used to it. Was already in and playing and it was up to him – to them – to keep themselves alive.

Themselves; it was a great reminder of his loneliness and of the fact that Jacob had a very limited chance to see another day if he stays alone. Needed to find the others – for a moment, fear gripped his heart, worrying for the woman who led him here; he needed to find Lara to see if she was alive and well.

But right before this fear could take over his mind a simple information gave him hope; she was Lara Croft. Of course she was alive. Remembering very well how strong she was in Siberia, how fierce and deadly she was, almost reassured him Lara was still alive. Maybe not really well, but still alive. Jacob had more reasons to worry about his own wellbeing than Lara's. But he still wanted to find her and see if she was still in one piece.

But where he should go? Looked around to find some kind of hint, some kind of sign to find the right track, back to her. Unfortunately, this terrain was so foreign to him almost alien. Honestly, not just almost. He didn't know this land, didn't know how to read this forest, how to find food, moreover what was food and what not. What meant danger and what not.

Couldn't see anything else only the rich vegetation in various, vivid colours. Nothing unusual, no hint which direction he should choose. Maybe for the first time in a long-long time Jacob didn't really know what to do. Felt how despair slowly crawled its way up from the pitch of his stomach toward his throat to grip it forcefully, when he heard it. Faintly at first, but he definitely heard it; through the forest's sounds; the noise of the insects hiding under leaves and the barks of trees, eating or looking after something to eat, the monkey's cries as they looked after each other and let the others know if there was any danger or not, the colourful birds' chattering above him, sitting high on the branches, and some strange, deep voice, like an aggressive, constant growling and the feeling of a pair of eyes on him – Jacob could hear something very familiar: the voice of a female and the urge to answer to her was too overwhelming.

"LARA!" he answered to her call, asking her to repeat it, so he can find her, following her voice.

Moments of silence and there she was again, getting closer to him, saying his name again. Leaving the spot behind where Jacob woke up and faced with the jungle for the very first time in his life, ran through the tropical forest, until he saw her figure, covered in mud and blood, but alive.

There was nothing that could stop him to sprint to her and embrace her, thanking God she was there and he could find her or more like she found him, they found each other, maybe squeezing her a bit too hard, but just didn't want to let her go.

Could he use to this, this constant fear of losing her? It was a familiar feeling, first experienced it in Siberia and when Trinity slowly got closer to them this fear was always with him. Now, it returned and it wasn't easier to endure it. Still, she was the one who voiced her relief.

"I thought I got you killed." mumbled against him, voice a bit shaking and weak, making it difficult to understand her, but the way she clung to him was more than enough to get what she meant to say.

A small chuckle escaped from him. "You need to work harder if you want to get rid of me."

Finally pushing away from her a bit, examined her form just to be sure she was okay. Looking at her this closely Jacob saw how fresh bandages covered her injuries: the worry was instantly back.

"Are you okay?" asked and he already reached out to check on the wounds, but she gently stopped his hands.

"I am fine." she even gave him a smile, still was able to charm him with a simple show of affection – even if she was covered in mud and fresh wounds. But then there was it again; the remorse of making a bad decision and Jacob knew Lara was already punishing herself mentally for it.

She insisted to head into the storm, because she was so driven, forgot to consider the consequences. Forgot to consider they could die. She put Jacob's life at risk, something was the most precious thing to her now, only because she felt the urge to go forward and never even doubted her decision. She did this willingly, only because she was way too excited to get ahead of Trinity. She was gambling with his life for what? To win a few hours against her enemies. _Hours_.

"Don't." Jacob stopped her even before she could open her mouth to apologize. "We all do mistakes Lara. But you need to learn from them – that is the way how you will be better and better. But self-pitying won't help us now."

They had this conversation in Kitezh too, but Lara was still young and still very stubborn; sometimes needed some reminder. Now she looked like a student who did the same mistakes twice, hating it. The forever perfectionist. No mistakes were allowed in her world. It was something what she developed over the relationship with her father, wanting to be his perfect daughter – now more than the time when he was alive. Like she could make up for past mistakes if she becomes perfect now.

Lara looked down, unable to stand his gaze on her, although he wasn't judging her, but she knew Jacob was able to see through her and see how vulnerable she was for real.

"I just… Sometimes I feel like I have to keep going… and if I don't I'll just let everyone down…" It was a small progress to her, admitting her weaknesses. Something they both worked hard for and she trusted Jacob enough to let him in.

"But… maybe for a sake of a few hours, we could have turn back."

He couldn't disagree with her – all Jacob could offer was a gentle smile. She still learned how to be wiser and not too hectic, rushing into everything. But Lara wasn't a lost cause at all. And the way how she could just shake herself and put everything aside to concentrate on the task ahead of her was quite amazing.

"We should go. If we can find Kuwaq Yaku we can rest for the night."

-x-

Walking through the jungle was easier to say than do – the rich vegetation what Jacob adored hours before turned this trip into a living hell; it slowed them down, vines curled around their feet and made them trip, threatening them to sprain an ankle, not to mention the insects and snakes hiding among the plants, ready to defend themselves or get under their skin and do nasty things once they were there. Navigation was also tricky, the forest seemed to be just the same in every direction. And the heat plus the humidity was more tiring than Jacob first thought.

Looking forward, Lara also had her own troubles with the wilderness, but she kept pushing, just like she did in Russia. No matter if the temperature was below the freezing point or above the ideal and comfortable level, she did not stop. Always found a way through the vines and leaves, if there was an obstacle in front of her she figured her way out, finding another route. Luckily it didn't get way too tricky yet; they could clear their path with raw force – they were a good team, even if Jacob mostly let Lara do her things alone – that was how she worked best. Whenever she needed his help she will say anyway. And right now she needed his muscle mass, to lift heavy stones up a bit, what blocked their way.

"I start to think you only brought me here because of my strength." complained teasingly before lifting the heavy weight with her help and be ready to keep it up alone, let her climb under it.

"Well, I have to admit, your body was part of my reasons." laughed then got down to the ground and rolled to the other side, grabbed the heavy stone to keep it in the air while he followed.

He didn't see it coming. He should, but he didn't and he will never forgive it to himself.

She just turned around and reached down to take the weight over from him when something big grabbed her from behind, bit into her leg and drag her away, like a rag doll, into the ankle-deep mud. Lara screamed from mixture of surprise and pain – those screams will haunt him for a time. She was so… scared, not knowing what happens, only felt something heavy was on her and it was biting her, literally eating her up alive. Lara tried to crawl away, but the thing was on her again, started to maul her, ripping her clothes, skin and flesh - maybe even pieces of flesh out of her.

It was a big spotted cat, similar to the leopards Jacob saw in the Middle East, but the pattern of the animal was different. Didn't really matter what it was exactly, the only thing mattered he needed to get over to her and now, needed to help her or the cat will devour her in front of his eyes.

" _LARA!"_

He yelled her name over and over again, felt how the panic slowly took over him. Tried to pull up the heavy stone block, but he couldn't lift it alone – it was way too heavy. No, no, nonono, he needed to get over her!

Giving up on the powerlifting, tried to find another way to Lara, but branches made him fail again; they were too thick to break them and had nothing to help him out. The noises of the fighting on the other side; her screams and the cat's growling, those ripping sounds what made him sick and dizzy urge him to think about something and fast. As for the last option, started to search in his pockets to find _anything_ what can be useful now. Fingers found something solid and heavy, pulled it out to see what was that, hopefully a knife, a very big one. He had to be disappointed, because it was the orange flare gun – Jonah gave it to him, just in case. After having two adventures with Lara, he knew a flare gun was always handy.

Jacob didn't really think about it for a long time; pushed it through the branches, close to of her.

-x-

It didn't take long. Either way she dies there or the cat does the same, there was no other option. And even if Jacob respected nature and everything what lived in it, he really hoped Lara will win this fight.

Her brain blocked the pain or dulled it just enough to let her act – Lara couldn't tell. The adrenaline was high in her blood now and she used every minute of it. Despite her serious injuries she kept moving and somehow managed to crawl away from the jaguar, rising her elbow and hit into its muzzle hard, making it hiss and also stopped it to keep biting her. Clearly the cat did not expect such a resistance, probably thinking she will be an easy meal and now a moment of confusion gave her just enough time to get away from it and find her footing.

She didn't mind her serious injuries – her back was all red from the blood, pouring from her deep wounds. Ignored the pain that was hitting her hard every time when she raised the bow to shoot into the jaguar – but it did not stand still and waited for her to take its life. Tried to get behind her again or just grab her with the massive paws armed with huge claws. Lara really needed to keep herself away from it because if the cat manages to get her down to the earth again and close its jaw around her neck, the game is over.

Killing a fast and agile predator with a simple bow was not an easy task, but it wasn't harder than kill Stormguards or the Deathless Ones. All she needed was the perfect moment to hit the cat on the right spot; a moment when it was turning around not seeing her, a moment when it wasn't totally aware of where she was. It was all about making a mistake and who will make it first.

The cat did and Lara didn't hesitate, seeing her chance to earn her right to stay alive; sent her arrow into the spotted body without hesitation and knew she was successful when the growling became weaker and hinted pain. And even if the jaguar did not give up, used every drop of its strength to try to kill her; one last strike with its paw, but only hitting the air, one last try to jump, but the muscled legs stumbled under the heavy body, not following the command and finally the cat fell to the ground, lifeless.

For a moment the jungle was silent. It was like every resident was witnessing this fight and favoured the jaguar – the odds were with the predator after all. But when the former ruler of the territory fell on the ground defeated and dead and Lara was still alive, standing in the glory of victory, it was a clear sign of a new ruler, ready to conquer the jungle, ready to defeat every barrier, ready to take every test. And she won't go away just like that and leave her business unfinished.

Every adventures of hers added something more to her personality, every fight she won, every life she took evolved her into something marvellous. A living, breathing unearthly creature, something Jacob couldn't really describe, but respected deeply, even feared it. She wasn't afraid of her, more like fascinated, admired her strength and power. This queen, this emperor of life and death. And who knew what this jungle had in its pocket for them?

Hiding her pain, Lara slowly walked to Jacob and lift the heavy block up, let him climb over, but didn't talk to him or even look at him. She was hard and cold – it was her habit to handle stressful and painful situations, be it emotionally difficult or physically. It was a mask, something the Goddess from moments ago left behind. A reminder of what she was capable of, what strength she had inside her. Finding his way under that mask was still something Jacob needed to work on with her; not to hide her pain, not to be ashamed to ask for help. Not to be ashamed to have emotions.

But it looked life Lara was ashamed because of her feelings.

He could try to talk to her, but knew it was useless. Probably Jonah would try it, even if he knew the same thing as Jacob. Seeing how she raised her crafted knife into the air and stabbed it into the carrion to skin it, it was the best if he let her. Give her time to calm down and collect herself.

-x-

Hours later, when the sun settled and night came Jacob sat next to the fire with Lara at her side. She was still distant and awfully silent, busy with sewing the skin together in her lap. Looked like planned to make some kind of camouflaging piece of clothes – and apparently sewing wasn't her strong trait. It will serve its purpose though.

The jungle wasn't very peaceful at night either – it surprised him. In Syria and in Siberia the nights were always very calm and eerily silent – animals were out there, but mostly hunting and they did that in a complete silence. Not here – the noises were different from the daytime, but they were still there as a clear sign the nocturnal animals were out and the humans were clearly outnumbered.

Something caught his attention in the corner of his eye, making him look at the direction where it came from; it was Lara, breaking her monotone movement as she tried to escape from the uncomfortable feeling in her back, poked over her shoulder to check the wound up.

It was time to have a look on that wound finally.

He didn't need to say a word – when Jacob stood up and she looked at him, a short but firm stare was enough for her to retreat and let him tend to her. Without his Prophet powers, Jacob couldn't really do more than grab the med kit and try his best to prevent infections. No matter how gentle he tried to be, she tensed up under his touch – she was clearly in pain.

Silly girl. If only she would let him to do this sooner.

Despite knowing what she was capable to do, despite seeing her surviving Jacob still felt this fear deep inside him. Even the greatest fighters reached their end once. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, every emperor of the Roman Empire… one day Lara will find something she cannot defeat or escape from it and Jacob was afraid that day will come sooner than later if she keeps pushing like this. He wasn't sure he would survive losing her.

Memories hit him hard. Jacob was sick of being unable to be there for the ones he loved and see them dying, while he was a helpless mess. Seriously thought after being a mortal this problem will be gone, but apparently, it didn't. The only difference his enemy was not the time itself, but Lara's stubbornness.

She still strongly believed she needed to solve every problem by herself. Alone. But there was a point when she couldn't take any more weight on her shoulders, but still was too stubborn to ask for help.

Suddenly the urge to hug her close to him was there, demanding to do it, no matter what. He resisted, because it would be extremely painful for her with her deep wounds. Instead of that he gently touched the other part of her back, felt how heat was radiating from her. She turned her head a bit, tried to look at his face, but unable to do it properly, hissing a bit from the punishing pain.

"I thought you will die there."

Hearing how weak his voice was Lara wanted to answer, say something, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Jacob continued.

"Seeing you being injured and in pain and all I could do was watching it… it reminded me to my life before I met you. When I was immortal and everyone whom I loved slowly died around me, while I lived on and I couldn't do anything to stop it."

Slowly turned back toward the fire Lara let him speak. He shared small bits about his past before, but not everything, they were far from that yet. It was too painful for him, often said he did far too many mistakes and it was hard to talk about them.

"I had a family, when I found the Shroud. Brothers, sisters, parents… When I had to flee from the city I was forced to leave my parents behind, but some of my siblings came with me and I slowly lost them, one after another over the years. And I was still the same on the outside, cursed to live forever, but inside I was dying. It was too painful to bear. I thought if I will be a great leader, if I will give a home to my people, who believed in me and followed me, I still can heal, but everything I touched just died."

He took a moment to calm down his racing heart, to collect himself. These were still very painful memories.

She turned with her body a bit, pushing the pain out of her mind, looked at him, reached up to gently touch him. Her voice was no more than a whisper now. "You can't protect everyone."

Jacob looked right into her eye. "But I should protect _her_. I should protect Sofia, but my creatures destroyed her and the City and countless souls with it. I swore I won't do the same mistake twice, but then came Alaya… and when I thought I was dead inside for years and my daughter was the only light in my life, I've got a new chance and I met you. And I am still unable to protect you, no matter if I am immortal or not, no matter how long I have lived, how much I have learned, I still make the same mistakes over and over again."

Watching him in such pain wasn't among her favourite experience. He tried hard, maybe way too hard to protect people around them. And Lara wasn't the perfect candidate for it either. Maybe he needed someone else, someone who wasn't like her, wasn't always after the danger and wanted nothing more just peace and to live at a nice place with him at her side?

Would it be too hard to try to find her peace finally? Too hard to let all these adventures go for a bit – just a bit – and enjoy the life she could have with him or keep live like this, pushing him to places where he was always in fear or doubt and while she was busy leaving her mark life just runs forward next to her and in the next moment when she looks up she is just old and alone, missing everything out what she could have?

She didn't want to miss her life with him, she didn't want to wake up one day and realizing years passed and she lost everything what should be important to her. It happened with her father – she didn't want to happen to her too.

"After my father died a friend of the family, Roth, took me in. He was like a second father to me, I learned everything from him. He was in the team when I went to Yamatai. He was there because of me. And he died there because of me. The Dragon Triangle was my idea, I was eager to make my mark in the world, to have my great discoveries and didn't even think about the price of it. I've lost many friends on that island. And even the ones I managed to keep alive or saved don't want to see me anymore. I only had Jonah. And now you."

Leaned closer to press her forehead against his, her hands sled to the back of his neck.

"We were both blindly driven and lost too much Jacob, but we have each other now."

He let out a breath, heavy with emotions, reaching out for her, his grip was strong on her shoulder. She really wanted to keep this promise of hers.

Didn't know how long they stayed like this, holding each other, afraid if hey let go they will just drift away and unable to find each other again. Five minutes? Ten? Maybe more? Who knows. When his grip loosened on her shoulder, she also let him go, straightened herself up and let him finish bandaging her.

His confession made her think, his words echoed in her mind, replaying his sentences as she stared into the fire. Breaking away from the flames, gave him a long, thoughtful look, maybe too afraid to ask her next question.

"Dominguez said that he would use the Silver Box of Ix Chel to remake the world." started slowly, observing his reactions, how he bended a bit forward poking the fire to give it some oxygen. "If you had that power, what would you do?"

Leaning back, Jacob let out a long sigh, thinking about his answer. "Probably nothing."

Nothing? This wasn't the answer Lara expected.

"You wouldn't go back to when you found the Source and just… leave it there?"

He let out a deep chuckle. "And re-done everything what ever happened before? No. I made mistakes and I did wish to re-done them, to restart, but putting everything together, no. Everything I love is existing in this world and not in the past. Not in the 'what if' scenarios. Sofia and you live now and I want to be part of that world where my girls are."

In the middle of the jungle, after a plane crash and two jaguar attacks, being mauled and in pain, Lara was still able to pull out her brightest smile.

* * *

 **Sooooo... God it was difficult to write this one, I was a bit lost what I wanna represent over here, but then I figured it out. Also I cut Jonah out of this piece, because I couldn't do anything with him, so bye Jonah, you stayed in a safe place instead of getting on that plane xD (Also the "others" mean Lara and the pilot - the pilot is sadly being eaten.)**

 **\- The jungle itself. A brand new environment, totally different than the prev ones before. The jungle is a really crowded place with full of life and everything wants to eat you - not just the obvious predator, like the jaguars, but insects too, hell even the plants as well. I am not really fond of the jungle - hot, humid, things get under my skin to feed on my organs and blood, poisonous plants and venomous animals, definitely not a human friendly environment. And Jacob never saw this before, it is a totally new experience for him. But being as calm as he is I am pretty sure he'd be fascinated by the jungle and deeply respect it, never underestimating it. He should read Kipling's book first I guess xD**

 **\- Lara realizing she cannot go forward like this, not anymore. When she started she thought there is nothing she can loose - well, after returning from Yamatai. After that adventure no-one really liked to be with her anymore and she was overly curious what the world has for her. But now with the chance to have a family with Jacob - not necessarily meaning she will have a kid with him, but she can settle down with him and finally enjoy life again and be happy - makes her re-think her decisions. Does she really wanna live and die like this? Or she is allowed to enjoy some peace with him at her side? They both deserve it, the question is if she is ready for that too.**

 **\- Jacob is opening up about his past. He still did not tell a lot about it to Lara, way too much painful memories and the fear she will look at him differently if she can see what mistakes he did. But he is very scared he will loose Lara too and he cannot stop it so maybe if he shares his past experiences with her and be honest with her, he can show her how this life, how chasing perfection won't solve anything. She won't bring her father back if she solves every mystery on Earth and put her life constantly in risk - she is only throwing her lfie away, while she could do so much more and be so much more happier as well**


	6. Never gonna give you up

**Wait, what iz dis? :D**

 **Back(?) to this series I apparently put on hiatus for... more than 6 months now. Um yeah, sorry, I forever was a 'come and go' person - damn you Gemini traits - but hey, my fav rare pairing from this fandom is on my mind constantly nowadays and I felt like maybe it was time to return to them :3 Aaaaand write some angsty story with them, like, eh always... I start to feel like my one-shots are kinda the same and I swear I can and do plan to write more than angst with them, but IDK I just cannot help myself xD Bear with me... Also I planned to write this story more than 6 months - I've got the idea when I was playing with SOTTR - but put it on the shelf and now it felt like a good come back. Not like I am overly happy with It, but hey I did write a story after a huge break, that is something :D**

 **The things are the same:**  
 **\- no beta-read**  
 **\- the author is still not a native British speaker**  
 **\- and sorry for the mistakes, but I don't even have a Word this time so no double spelling checking either (My Opera still has it, hopefully it will save the day. I re-read the story more than once, but I wrote it so my eyes cannot be trusted xD)**

* * *

The jungle seemed to be more calmer at night to him. No, not calm... calm wasn't the perfect word for it. It was more... peaceful. Showed different beauty, a brand new side, something forever changing, something new to discover and still, the moonlight added some softness to it, even if the darkness meant new sources of danger. It meant a good hide-out for predators - but it also meant a moment of peace, a moment to be alone.

And it suited Jacob just fine.

Walked out of the palace silently, his pace even and almost slow, but his steps were heavy with worry, blue eyes worn, muscles tensed and also tired.

The night air was warm and still humid,thick and heavy as ever, not really meant any kind of relief after the daytime heat. After Siberia it was new to face with this warmness, to feel forever uncomfortable and sticky and it only heightened his irritation.

Stopped for a moment to take in the sight of the city beneath him, inhaling the air deeply, smelling the mixture of the vegetation around him, water and the soil under his feet. As he let out a sight, heavy with the troubles he was facing with, Jacob couldn't help but wondering; what will be waiting for them in this jungle? What more can be hidden between the trees, behind the bushes? He felt like nothing can surprise him anymore - but couldn't help to feel uneasy and asking questions, having his doubts.

In one hand this was a great adventure and full of promises; Lara loved it of course, she managed to find Paititi and it was everything she ever dreamed of: a hidden city with full of legends and secret. But the city had another side, a darker one, offering false peace and isolation from the world, amusing the people with it's wild beauty, keeping dark secrets between the stone walls. Ancient culture, legends and death. The perfect mixture to tempt a certain young archaeologist, who happily jumped into it, without any second thought.

And what they were facing with here, what Lara was facing with here... maybe it was just too much.

Didn't think a lot about his route, Jacob simply started to walk down to the lake what was close to the palace - in the daytime, it was a lovely place to be and Jacob often spend his time there - the shore was full of Paititians: children were playing next to the lake and adults were in the knee-high water, catching fish, fresh to the table. While Lara preferred to deal with traps and artifacts, Jacob loved to be close to the living, watching them and learn from them, to see how the lived, hearing stories and history, enjoying the vivid life, participating in the children's game and help wherever he could. This life, the simple life was all too familiar to him. Now the lake was silent and offered the perfect place in the Moon's silver light to be alone for a moment, away from everything - every trouble and worry and problem, every _'we have to save the world'_ and _'Gods and Goddesses'_ , every _'recreation and destruction'._

Every _'what would happen if I loose you'_.

Because it didn't matter how hard he tried to pretend and ignore the problems, they were still there.

It wasn't like he did not know what to expect - Jacob didn't have illusions, he saw monsters himself, moreover made them by his own hands: created the Deathless Ones. And he truly believed - or hoped at least - they were one of a kind, monsters, but unique ones and he doesn't have to face anything like them in the future. But he was wrong apparently.

Slowly reaching his route's end, avoiding the few houses that still had some fire, signalling not everyone was asleep just yet, dealing with the very last tasks for today, Jacob stopped, hoping the water will wash away his fears, suddenly feeling way too old for this world.

When he will stop counting the days when he almost lost her? The fear he felt was as cold as the first time and it paralyzed him with just the same intensity.

If she wouldn't come back... if she just couldn't make it... it was madness, he was against the plan all along...

Lara disagreed of course and she just had to push her luck, had to volunteer to get in the City of the Serpent, even if Unuratu told her it was suicide.

He wanted to go with her. Something inside him urged her to go with her, because he needed to protect her, because she will need him there, because it was way too dangerous. But Lara had to be Lara of course. She disagreed, telling him it was nothing she couldn't handle on her own. The truth was she was afraid to let him close to any kind of danger ever since he gained his mortality back - she never admitted it, but Jacob knew it. But she couldn't protect him forever, he wasn't defenseless and Lara didn't need to put this weight on herself as well - she had enough on her plate already, facing with the prophecy about the world's end.

It quickly evolved into a decent argument, both of them showing their worst faces to each other - him yelling at her she was careless and way too blinded by the thirst of the truth, just like she was in Siberia, risking way too much. She hit back with what was on stake, how the world was about to be destroyed - and because of her, because she was too driven. She didn't do this only because someone had to, but Lara felt responsible ever since she took that dragger. Dominguez said she set the prophecy in motion and even if it was true Jacob didn't want her to face with it alone. He wanted to be there for her, to shield her away from all the bad things in the world and make her happy.

 _"It is my task to fix it!"_ These words were still ringing in his ear as Lara literally screamed them at him, eyes heavy with tears, begging, but also defiant.

Jacob told her, she often forgets it is not just about her anymore.

It annoyed the hell out of him! Her stubbornness, how she closed everything and everyone out of her world these times, how she just didn't listen to reason! This was Lara and he accepted her, also loved her and every part of her, good and bad included. But it didn't make less painless when she went anyway, leaving him and his anger behind, too stubborn to not show to everyone she can do anything. Because Lara Croft had no limits - and if she still faced with them, she just pushed them away.

But there were things she couldn't really push away. There was a point when even Lara had to admit she couldn't deal with everything on her own. And the Yaaxil seemed to be that point.

Even if Jacob was angry, he was also worried for her - just like always. Always checking if she was back, asking if someone heard anything about her and probably annoyed the hell out of Jonah with his restless behavior, pacing back and forth, unable to sit still or do anything else. Not like Jonah wasn't worried, but he learned how to make himself busy and useful, ever since all he could do to tell Lara his point of things and trust her judgement. If she wanted to go, she went anyway, leaving people behind whom cared about her. And when she came back, shaken and weary, Jacob felt like he should tie her down to keep her safe, close to him, not let anything to hurt her ever again. She was an adventurer and he was a protector - that's why they got along so well, but it also caused some tensions between them when they disagreed about what mattered as way too dangerous and what not.

Running to her, embracing her tightly, feeling how violently she was shaking, unable to stop it and hearing her cry almost broke him to pieces. How a powerful woman like her get into a shape like this? What happened to her?

Jacob saw her crying only once: back in the coldness, when his immortality was gone and he was dying - it was still an overly vivid memory. In that moment he saw fear in the brown eyes - it wasn't the same fear he saw radiating from her, when Lara was about to head to face with the Deathless Army. She was afraid of course, but knew she had to do it, knew what was the task, laying ahead of her and knew she could do it. This time she was terrified, weakened from it, like a small child would be, fragile, threatening to break even more, seeking relief in his arms, hiding from the harsh world - and Jacob tried his best. Being there for her, hugging her close, humming to her, telling her nothing can harm her while he was there, he will protect her, no matter what. And even if he desperately wanted to know what happened to her, he didn't ask, not yet; the timing was just wrong. She mentioned some creatures, but it was difficult to follow her; they sounded to be almost inhuman. Not like that was something he did not hear or saw before.

Finally, the exhaustion won and Lara slipped into a restless seep, allowing to Jacob to sneak out, leaving her in Jonah's care, just for a bit.

"What you have gotten into this time?" whispered his question into the darkness, wondering how they will fix the world this time and how long it stays fixed, before shattering to pieces again, demanding a savior to itself. And who else will be there to be the hero of the day?

It was unfair.

 _'Just 10 more minutes_ ' and he will be heading back. Just 10 more minutes to figure out how to keep Lara whole on this adventure and how to help her trough everything, hoping the jungle won't crush her too much, not taking away too much from her. Jacob wasn't ready to face with that loss, but if he wanted to be honest with himself his greatest fear was exactly this; seeing Lara changing, loosing too much.

These thoughts were too dark to think about, making him even more worried, than he originally was. One step at a time and his main focus has to be Lara now and not thinking about what will happen in the farther future. He was about to turn around when the leaves ruffled on the left, demanding his attention from the corner of his eye. The movement made him to turn toward the maze of leaves and vines, staring into the darkness, figuring out what was there, should he fight or flight.

Expected it to be an animal, maybe a lost pig from the village or a reptile - or even a jaguar as a worst case scenario. What he did not expect was a bare human leg, poking out of the forest, followed by a human body. When he realized what it was, the view forced him to take a step backwards.

 _She_ was definitely human. But did not look like she was one of the villagers at all. Tall and slender, full of muscle. Her clothes... they weren't really clothes, more like some kind of tribal wearing, clearly made from things she found in the forest, decorated with spikes of wood or bones. And her skin... was covered in something - it was difficult to tell in the darkness, what was the darker layer on her skin. It took a moment or two to realize it was redness he saw on her limbs and face, making decorative patterns - hopefully some kind of paint and not blood. Her black hair showed an unfamiliar design, jewelry pierced in her flesh of her face - so raw and wild, but also very mesmerizing. She was almost beautiful to look at, exotic and still radiating some kind of harsh danger, almost tempting to go closer. What stopped him to obey to that urge was the horrifying look of her mouth: this woman had no lips, nothing covered her teeth and Jacob couldn't help, but wonder how she lost them. Does she cut them off herself or someone else did?

The creature took a long moment staring at him, looked like she couldn't really put him to anywhere, measuring the situation. Was he a friend or foe? Clearly an outsider and that could mean several outcomes of this situation. But as he looked at her and she was looking back at him, seemingly hesitant, wondering even, Jacob slowly realized what this hint of weird and uneasy feeling was he felt deep inside him; she looked familiar to him, even if he was sure she was nothing he ever saw before. No, not really looked, but... felt familiar. Like someone coming from the same place, knowing the same things, but never met with before, still sharing the same origin, coming from the same tree.

The woman stepped closer suddenly and he winced from the movement, almost stepped away from her, but made himself stop in the last moment, dealing with the tension in his muscles; what was the phrase Lara told him once? 'Curiosity killed the cat...' Look who was judging.

A hand grabbed his wrist; gentle, but firm, showing her strength she carried in those fine muscles, clearly more than capable to hurt a mere human if she wanted to. Her other hand went up and long, red fingers touched his face, eyes searching, almost wondering - the touch on his skin felt cool, almost cold, making Jacob shiver in the warm and humid air.

 _"Wéet"_ she stated in her deep, coarse voice, made her sound inhuman, almost not believing what she is seeing _"Chan le k'iino' je'el xano'."_ Looked down, lifting his hand up, touched it with her both limbs, examined it like if she was looking for something. _"Ba'ale' ts'o'ok ma'."_

They stayed there, frozen in the moment; the old one and the ancient. Jacob had the feeling, just like him, she shouldn't even exist and still they were here and still alive, like fragments of another world, that no-one remembered to anymore. Living legends.

She could think the same, because she looked back into his eyes finally, and Jacob could almost hear her asking _'How is it possible?'_

"You are..." His voice finally found him, still fascinated by her and also feared her. Swallowing in the thick air, finished his question. "..Her, aren't you? The woman who attacked Lara?" She must be the creature Lara tried to describe and Jacob wasn't surprised why she failed to use the right words to describe her; she wasn't anything you can just describe with mere words - words were simply not enough. Frightening, beautiful, powerful, deadly, noble, graceful, dark... these words all fitted for her and still were so less, nothing compared to her existence - another Goddess in this small world.

His question made her letting his hand go, looking at the palace and Jacob knew she got what he meant, even if they clearly did not speak the other's language, but they still were able to understand each other.

"What do you want from her?"

She came because of her, Jacob knew. Lara tend to attract mystical creatures apparently.

The Red Queen didn't look back at him, still seemed to be thinking about her answer, understanding what was happening here, more than Jacob hoped he would _"Yaabilajech."_ was the simple answer he got _"Le k'iino'. Ix Chel."_

"Ix Chel?" He heard these words before. Lara kept talking about the Mayan legends all the time "The God?"

Another long stare.

"Do you think she is a God?" It was confusing - why this woman, who came from the forest thought Lara, an outsider was a God? What does that mean to her? Followed her stare toward the palace, thinking to the young woman who was sleeping between those walls, who just faced this red Goddess and came back from her frightened and vulnerable. How she, a mere human could face with a God's task?

Lara always said legends had some truth in their core, but Jacob experienced otherwise; legends were the truth, stories of the long forgotten parts of human's history, stories of an old world, where unbelievable things weren't so unbelievable. When people still had faith in things they call fairy tales nowadays, when their Gods walked among them. And even it became stories over the centuries, these legends had more truth than modern humans gave them credit for.

He and the Red Queen knew that. But it wasn't too much for a single human? Restoring the Sun was a bit bigger task than to defeat a Japanese empress or find the Deathless Prophet in the middle of nowhere. Was it selfish to wish they could just walk away from it?

Lara won't walk away from it. Doesn't matter what it takes, she will be up on the ride for the very end - even if she wished to walk away from it, she won't. She never did and never will do - and Jacob will be there, right next to her side, whatever happens.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed it :3 If you did please let me know - I am always welcoming comments and comments keeps be dedicated to the cause xD I am ALWAYS open to ideas as well :D Request even :D**

 **What it can mean to my creativity and what are my plans with this series? I do plan to finish it and I also do plan to write more with this pairing, I just cannot promise any kind of schedule at all. It felt good to create some content and I love stories and it is also good for my English, so yeah, I do plan to write more, I just dunno how often I can do it.**


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